The Sun. — London, England, 1818-04-23 00:00:00

HOUSE OF CO_MAIONS. [Contintied fromottr Second Page.] SLAVE TRADE. Mr, WILIIERFoaca , tose - ; pursuant to .his notice, to move for the pioductiiin of some Papers rela tive-to the Slave Trade. He thought it would. be admitted that the shutting out any additional sup ply of Slaved. was the, best morie of ensuring . improvement in the condition of the'Slavqs.„ thing was so likelv to contribu'e to the improve ment-of the physical it;ld moral .condit ion of that claSs of persons, as to make the colonies de pendent on an interual- supply. lf was with this view that his Honourable Friend had ; introduced hi-S Bill to make it a felony to impOrt Slaves. It was On the same priociple that two. years ago he .-had introduced a Bill for .the Registration of Perhaps Ile bad been thought unreasona bly. jualons. on this subject ; but when it was con sidered that it tuas„ before the introduction of his HOn Friend's Bill, the universal feeling in the "Colonies that it woo Id ire holm) ti cab! e, by means of any naval or military' fOrce, to prevent the illicit_ introduction of Slaves, and that those Very pet sons now opposed the Registration Bill on the ground that by meatus of a naval force the il licit introduction of Slaves mivht he totally pre sented ; and when, 00 . the other hand, it was consider et! that all historians aoil unbiassed per, sons agreed that registration was the, only efiec to .1 mptie: of proviNtig against the illicit traffic, it would be allowed that the force of .the objections made by the Colonis - s to the. measure was not gri f at. It had beeo fou n t that, the mere recom mendation of the measure of registration (rpm this side of the wa , er was utterly without-effect. This had onforttotately too. often been the case with recommendations from the same quarter, for. tie purpose- ,of reforming the condition of the skives. When the papers were placed before the House, lie trusted that they would be considered w rib all the attention which they -deserved. It was the dory of the !loose, after having aeknow ledged more than half a million of beipp as its fellow creatures, to attend to their claims, and pariculaily to take care, by the registration of Slaves, that none should be illicitly brought lie,concluded by moving'forCopies of all Laws passed in or fot the British Cohnties since 1812, and not hitherto laid before Parliament, relative to the condition ofSlay,.s, the prevention of their:: i!licit importation, and also reSpeeting tic condi tion of the free, coloured pordatiern. ..Mr. GOULBUItiV did not intend to ofreville leasi opposition to the present motion.. lie felt, in common with the rest of the linage, how much the country owed to the Right lion. Gentleman for his, exet ions in the grzNat Caose'of lh , was al .o desirous of rendering the - illicit portation of Slaves as impOssilde as Etonian precau tions coeld allow, If he had ever . differed . from the li,on.:,Aleu,ber, it was not in the objeet he had . in. Yie , v, but in the bet stay of attaining it ; for be had thought that a less pereCt measure, Car ried, with the good will of the persons'in the' C(';-15110 must ultfy,vE it effect, trOuld produce more . benefi dal cousequences than the best enactment _made againSt their wishes. The ruittous infipenceof the late War had prevented file Colonies fruit paying' that attention to the condition of the tit green Lich they +vete desirous of,.giring; but with the return of prosperity that important subject would kJ duly considered, and trusted the peiiod was not distant when a great and most satisfactory chaoge would be observed in the condition of the dare population. • • MARnzorr.deprecated the systeni of calum . - ny which had been adopted during the laSt thirty yeari against the West lodla Colonists. He trust: ed that the papers moved" for would prove that . they were cordially disPosed'to assist in the execu tion of any measure really calculated to improVe the conditiotr of slaves. Mr. W. SMITH, ,for one, repelled the imputa tion of ealtrany which the Hon. Gentleman had thrown upon theMet»bers of that House. The motion having been agreed to, Mr. WILBEMFORpE moved for copies or ex tracts of such Accounts.received by the COlonial Depart men! since 1867, and not previo u sly l a id berme Par l iament, as would show the increase and decrease of the number of slaves, as also of the.. flee-colgored and the white population: He was an, old soldier in the present : kind of warfare, and heard with indifference the imputatiOns thiown out by an Hon. Member, and is hick 'he was dis posed to ottribute chiefly to the situation whiCh that Ron, Gentleman held. He was not satisfied that the supply of slaves Wil3 cut Oti, and thou g ht it very difficult, under existing circumstances, to prevent their illicit introduction.' Mi..GRAN'F and Mr. Baowtsto contended, that they had never heard of any evaiion'of the law in that respect. • The motion was agreed to. • • „ , • Mr. WILBERFORCE 'hen moved for ri'neturn of the present numberof all the above elasies, and,' a% far as . .the same could be given, of the changes. in the relative proportion of the male and'femAe population ; and also, for opies or extracts of all Acts passed ',pursuant 'to the Address of 1816 to the Prince ltegent, retioesthig his ROyal fligh tless to recommend the adOption of measures of relief in the Nest India Colonies'. and for joides a all Executive or Otficial Voceedings relative to the said 'objects, and of all correspondence on the subject which Might be p‘roduccd Without prejudice to the British service.—Agreed DOM INICA. Sir S.. ROMILLY said, the .objeet of the istoti9n he had to•submit %vas to put the I-louse in pos session of information which he bad been made acquAinted with on the condition of the Sl;a►es in the IVest Indies, hut particularly in the colony of Dominica, and the state of- the laws there. It was possible that some of the facts might be met charged, though he had little doubt of their geUeral:cotrectness ; however, he made this 0b... set vation, to protect himself front becoming re• sponsible for their accuracy, because he might have been led _into error. To the motio❑ itself, ht. anticipated no obj-ction, because it was merely fur the production of papers, or extract's from. them, which already lay in the office of the Co lon:al Secretary. 1 he complaint which he, had to make' lay chiefly against the Grand Jury - pi D • ' onntirca, before wbotil s6veral - bills of indict- mdut were presented last 'Spring, 'against certain slaves. In one of those cases, the Grand Jury happened to throw out the Bill; add theinaster, determined upon - vengeance, absolUtely took Ills Slave, whom' the Cmirt had thus declared innocent . ; into the public market place,. and inflicted 39 lashes upon him, in the open face of day. (hilt being the cumber beyond which a master could not 'extend , his punishment, according to the laws of the Colony. .This infamous transac tion excited -such, a sensation, that the Attorney : Generallound,hintself called_ noon to prosecute tlAs man, who, with such daring effrontery, had toirtured his helpless victim. Now the house lentil() mark the fact, ,as it sheaved the state' of feeling in the Colony. Upon the Attorne,y Ge nerars'presenting his indictment before the Grand Jory,„ the bill was *thrown' out, as Were two others against „slave masters : one accused of floggitig a female slave'in a shocking manner; and the other charged with a similar act of bar barity. This,, however, ,was not all ; the Grand Jury in their presentment absolutely remarked, that the great number of indictments on-charges of bad areatment .of slaves might be attended with dangerous consequences to the white population, andonght to be discountenanced, especially (as they added) as in most cases the slaves.meriied the treatment they had received, . Such was the character of that tribunal in Dominica, which in this country. was considered as one of the best safeguards of the people's, rights. There was so little apparent chalice of obtainiudustice through the medium of a Grand Jury, that the Attorney- General of ,the Coltiny would' not trust theta again, aod.absolutely suspended the Constitution, and resorted to the expedient of criminal informa tions in, three eases, which were to be hr ought before the Court, in .which the mastera had or tiered chains to be put upon their limbs, and iron collars aloof.) the necks of their 'slaves..—; The GrAnd Jitry, however, deterMinedopt;ii cit . • ehdini'slaVes from the bene6t : ot all • laW, presented, " that theinterterenee between master `and slave was likely to produce the worst conse- • apiences." The Court retnsed to receive this pre sentment ; but the 'Grand Jury , steady to their purpose, proposed another, complainiog of tells( they called the, dangerous interference, oil the Tort of the executive, bet Ween masters . and slaves.—H e would put if to the house, if this statement was true (and he did not doubt it was to a,great extent), what must be the condi , tioo of the wretchedAfricao, who, when Sofferilig under the cruchyof inbuinato tier or relative to present a Bill before a Grand Jury ro oilcann redress, as the law had tkterinined that none hut the master coulsh do that; the per son, in fact, against whom the law was to be in voked. lie was not disposed to say any thing which migl!t disturb that conciliatotyspirit, which in the mieds of the Gentlemen oponSite was ne 7 . cessary to be preserved towards the West.lndia planters, by those who wished well to the aboli tiou or slavery., At the same time, he ulit] not but remark, that it was the general concurrent feeliag tat the whole colonies, that nothing was more improper than an intet femme between ntas ter and slave. At least, that such was the feel ing, in Dominica could not he controverted. It, therefore, would become the House to look to some means of protecting these unhappy beings, whose lives, under the present system; were of;en one continued scene of stifle' ing. It was a common practice to send slaves iu Domi-• nice who had committed any aoffence to the' jails; this was clone by ,their masters anti in such cases it was not . in the [mu er of the Gover nor to extend at pardon towards them, although lie was invested with the powers Of the Royal prerogative, as representing the Sovereign.- When the . Attorney-General was . consulted . by the Go vernor on the subject, he gave it es - his''opitiiiin that the. Governor had no right to interfere with the domeitic tribimals Ofthe islands. It seas easy to foresee, the abuses which this system waist lead to. It was enough to make one's tunianitY-revolt at the idea, of such things being possible. It w as like the practice that once prevailed in the island of Saint Domingo, where toasters got rid of their slaves by sending them to the public gaols, there to be attached ,to what was t fie public chain. The' young and the old, the infirtt and the strong, were all fastened together by one long chain, and iii that situation all obliged to per form the same win*, whether they were able to do so or not ; and if :hey did norwork, they were flogged by cart whips: It seemed then, that in •the island of Domiuica, the prerogative of the' crown was restrained by the superior prerogative , ot the master's. This was an evil which it was . , ineemhent oti cite British Legislatiee to notice, and to. remedy. It would be necessary- in every island, as Mr. Burke'once recommended, tocon stitute the' Attorney-General thegtiardian of the. slaves. It would also be necessary, in this eoun 7 ,try,lor the British Parliament to legislate for the I Colonies. It would be a 'pocket yto apply to 't he islands those, principles that were contended (or on behalf - -of the Notth American Colonies before the Amerian war ; for if the inha bitants of the islands claimed the right of legislat ing for themselves by representatives, they must show that they acted on the plinciples of the British Cinistitntion ; and such tights they never could claim so long as the system of slavery was kept up among them. In Dominica, masters could Rot even manumit their slaves without paving a tax ; and there was a law in that island, which edared, drat if even a free black landed there, he was immediately declared a slave. The whole course of the laws there, in short, tended to render slavery perpetual, instead of allowing that most useful practice of letting slaves obtain freedim, awl arrive at something like independence: Let it be recollected, that those aunhappy creatures, although slaves, were the subjects of the King, bound by the same allegiance as mochas the people 'of Aritain. .He would mention the case of a Mr. Higgins, of the Island of Nevis, who had been tried for cruelty towards his ownalaves. The case was well known. The same man had since been guilty of 'another act of crumb y-- . -that of ordering the pnitiSh mem of 100 lashes to be inflicted on t wo young lack, who were !nit his own slave's, but those of another person, who had employed hitn as his Attorney. They were punished with extraordinary severity. There were two young Woinen slaves present at . • - the time of the pani'iltorent -- ;'6ne-Clif-lbese was the sister of one of the lads . andille other allomestie servant ';4ftod "becance they - inerelY-'shed Oti the occasion, 'Mr. Huggins ordered, one 'Of them to receive thirty, and the other twenty lashes. For, this offence Huggins %Vas triA 'by ofae'r'of the Attorney-General ; he Was - and tt was considered as a most unwarrantable ioterpo - - sitionin the rights of masters,to have institutedsuch a prosecution. Ile concluded Wi t h m o v i ng f or a n Address Prince Regent,to request (bathe be pleased to give direet ions hat t here be laid before the HOuse Copies or Extracts of the depositions sent toi the Secretor . ) , of State relative .to John Baptist and others, agains - t whom bills of indictment had been preferred by Attorney-General of St. Mining°, since February, 1817; and with respect to the power exercised by the QINAels of slave*• to send. them to the public chain. Mr. GOULBURN fully agreed - that such gets AS had been stated by the Hon. and Ledrued-Gen-' tleinan, were most.abliorrent to homanity and justice ; hot until full information were received concerning then"); he wished to put' Gentlemen on their'kuai-d 4 , ,airMAcceiving an impression . that what had been Stated was an exact representation of the facts. ,could assure the Hoo`se, that ,whateVer the practice 'might he Nevis, , or Do the conduct towards the slaves in the larger islands was• very different. In Jamaica, it w a s known that slaves were possessed of consi derable property, and often purchased their free - - .doin. It had liee.nstated by an lion. Member of that House, that lie had purchased property from a slave,. With respect to the present motion, the lion. Gentleman noticed the eirctitostance of ' presentments having. been thrown - oat by the Grand inrys. and as to-the conduct of petty S.es sions in Dominica, it would be impossible for the . 1-I , iiise to come to any decision, without haying the whittles, of 'trials before it. Far was it from hi,z'vekit to attempt..to vindicate• any'such acts as those stated by the Learned Gentleman, and be, 'had no objection to his Motiou. R.'!...:.strirewaS' happy to . hear'thar the;state of society. was .not so bad in the larger as the• , smaller isl an d s; b u t i t . wa y ev id ent •f rom every s ilting which had been sail, that • Pailiattient was bound tb exercise A vigilant supetintendance over alfrhe istatids. Mr GIiANT xvas not disposed to.deny flue state ments made by the Learned Gentleman, relative to tlie'Wtiocities 'cionThitted in 'Dominica and , Nre.s vis but . theist 'places were very insignifreant compared. to the other. islands, where no such acts were dooe, and it was not fair to make a statement' from which or..e might''concei'e gelaeral prejudice against the larger Ceilonies. • He assured the Honourable anti 14 , artied- Gent lemon, that no such things . were ever known, to take place in island of - Janiaica: He Cotic6ved it very unfair in'Che•Ho r til Gehtternarr tO have-made such freqUent use-of the term cart-whip ; and as to Negrne_s being chained, that act was not a punish ment.; there was merely a chain lightly . placed round' off'enditig 'Negroetti to prevent thein front running. away. ; Mr. A. BROWN denied that there was any eel deuce before the House to induce it to believe that the fact stated by the Hon. 'Gentleman. as to the Severity of punishment in , Doininica, was true. On the c!unrary, there were documents to show that such was not the faet. - But if it was true With retard to" one -island; it writ: twit so•inoregard* to other islands: Ile would leave it to the Hon. Gentleman to say, whether the simple act of a Grand Jury could ji:stily hint in making his.state went. The I.l6nonrable Gentleman gave. a co lour to to the transaction in Ntvis which di'd not he long to it. Ile had received a very different ac count from the agent of that island. He was no apologist' for the 'conduct of Mr; Iltiggins•; but there was reason tO suppose his conduct was not sO bid as had been represented. lie had acted as an attoftiey for' another' person ; finding that two' nei;roes had COminitted a theft, he ordered them to recekeloo ladies each ;' but they dill not re celee-alttlie and the liiiiiishment Was 5 O slight, that the- two nOgroes appeared at a etas-' tleißcle - the' neja evening,:. one in the cha,- racter of Buonaparte, and the other in the chir raeter of the . Dhke'of WellingTan:. - gfoally incor rect was the statement of the plThisbnient in flicted on the two women ; (hey were not punished for shedding tears; but for tai3ing yell's in such an obstinatentatmer as tended to destroy the antho ,rity of the masters: Nor was one of these women a domestic servant of the latter ; for in conse quence of ber violent and bad temper, she had been condemned to wink in the fields, Mr. Cot tle, who was now in this country, highly approved , ,of the c on d uc t o f M r . tigg ius, his at t en tr y, when he heard of it. When Mr, Huggins was brought to trial by order of the Assembly, the :Jivy acquitted him Of the charge of cruelty ; and (.4overinu. Prevost expressed his approbation of the verdict of the Jury. He wiShed . that , all abuses :in the' islands should find a re-inedy ; but he wished it to be a remedy consistent with' the general peace and security of the empire. Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH expressed his astonish , ment .that the Hon. Gentleman should attempt to vindicate the character of- thar man noggins, by quoting a certificate of the master who had employed such-a culprit—a defence that only went to place the guilt of the master in a much stir nger light. The Hon/Gentleman had - said, that the rem-ales had not been punished for shedding teams:, but for raising. yells of obstinacy ; but he would ask whether such yells- should- not be considered as stronger emotions of vie( and- whether they by any,ingenuity that despotism might de- ' vise, be cons t rue d i n t o an o ff ence - It was the first time. in ,the history of 'tyranny, he had heard of a ponishMent being iniliefed on spec tators for sympathizing in the solterings of others. Was --it to be said that these wo men, under pretence of 'sensibility, had set up cries for, the were purpose of preventing a punishment from being inflicted. The - cause of . - the West India islands could never be :serVed by such cruelties as these; or, by setting up such a: defence as be had just beard for the atrocities in question. So much for what 'had peen done in the island or Nevis. In consequence of the Grand Jury throwing ont the Bill, the Golierniftent reeled the Airoi•iley4itnerl tofile a Bill ex , o,rtirio, and then the Urrand Jury, violatin g the prerogative uf.the truth, .declAreki thavinferafaticnuto be a 111.113ahee; 400. - - thus: fiArred up - all the itt'efi'''es la ' • justice, and•-.not „only thatblit _dint; declare i‘ to be a public offence to seek to obtain e. ' It waq evident 'that on the'rart of the authoriti ifland; tens twat . disreggrii" f g v a • law-an& juStice,• and it was to remedy that thilt, the present motion Was wade by hits *nit' Learned Fr'iehd. Mr. BROWN explained: MAilmia•ir - entered • into some state rtientg ;'' ,respettitik• thtr preientineniulladed to, which nOt confined to the information of the Attornere General, but tO several o her things ;0" (1 tit priesentment, or) the whole, was not on l Y i t , e ; fiAble ; but -erille4l , fot by tliene ce ssity•of th"% .5 - The intst• culpable part of the preseottp ut i x the incorrect manner in which It bad been dive up. And it should be known, that thi s ve ry Grand Jury had then found_a—trtie bill aga il l st ... white planter, of the name-of Saullope, for In tl ' diring H slave. reraL l IMr. WitsEßFoßce, in 9.4Pc11 CC of CO. ftbC • Ichgth, enlarged on the state of degraflaii" ° *pc r ?•egr°e l in. the West Indies. He adniittol 4-tallied the Legislattire had• throvat rt° stftck's ih the way; of tnanumissiow,•-tind 11 ° ( 1 0 4 wilier respects .sicbalized themselves beY"n e d i i i r s . other Islands. He dwelt on t he. many ba rd ` •+ tO which they wer e s ubj e ct e d in ' a ll the IsW it i c;tt. and the necessity of commutricating•teligi"' i Ls ing.' moral instruction .to th em . and of intr": l- a ny ' map iago . among Item. No attempt .ba u lo lo where been yet made ' to prevent Net: ll4s :or' being sold . fOr the deb t s-of ' t h e i r - m aster, ( 1 cumstance. of cruelty dwelt on• in the mos t ' J. ble language by Mr. lit yan Edwards. " grit Mr. W. SMITH wits glad to ileac., for I'll - in that House, the Nev;ro Slates tern le ":lo jects of his Majesty. if they 'Were subjec l , s-1 ,141-' Majesty, he.should be glad. to know er• were to be placed under the tincontronJe d r- ° :r of a handful of then, - who iveri:'.interested'W essing Achy?, •• . . • ;pc Sir S. R0m11..4y, in rt'ply, read..the-evid ettlCe f; l3 .• the trial of Huggins, i.n cortoboration,ot per statement. lie observed, that froth the , re efi . the story ;of -the. masa-pit:rade Joust be -ioc °; ),y*-' One of the .witness es , driver,-saiii ,that si% 4 , es , after there were m ar k s o f sever i ty on , the Neg t r i i -la such as he had nev e r b e f ore observed.' Of who 'ere pintished, , it ;was distinctlY. s tate." .l;c 4 the trial, that- t hey did no t.. scream 5 o)llcaatP ,%.,- their faces, and s h e d tears., An 1-ion. Go)".,e4at had been offended at - the word " cart wh i P' •taff this . was Phi- plrrase which -ivas used and as, it thence„appeared, the coma:) ll4°r' the Island. I o ed. OrtitiLß LI z , :r tend Mr: MA • RRY ATT - , '• on . the ill it'' The motion was agreed- to, , as wits 031.1°‘ papers relmiug.tp thygins, o f tuF Gen. THO4INTo.N mowed, f or a n Accannt .: lies • Grants to the' British Musetun, and API ) A tr; tine of 'them but . - after a few words W. Smith and Mr. 1). Gilbert, he con s " tet witlitiraw it. 'Die nth- I,isposecl 061 4 ne other Orders of. the D i fy were end the ffouise Adjourned to Friday. PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS: AI TITLES of PAPExs orderrri to be produced bri rber - I° s ' - . COMMONS. k ticit o ' . An Account of , the. Total Weekly Amount Hof pan - '„ ta , • and Bank Post Bills in circulation, from the :13, of ,„1 the 7th of April 1818 ; t oge the r w i t h an A cco unt of clic ',`'eo Amount of Bank Notes and ank Post 13.01; out;tand'''-,04 the 11th of April, at night; distinguishing,_ the Be irj - Amount of Notes under the Value of Fic • and stating the aggregate Amount of the Whole' f t bs An Account of All Exch e qu er Bill s i ssue d virtae t" 4ct - 5'7 Geo, s,-enir.-16,. intitttled;:" An Act for raisiri iero Sup, of Eighteen Millions, by ExchequeF Bills, f °r victi , of the YearASl7,"—outstanding and unP rnrid o ed ril f : r s, ' Return to an Ortle'r of the Honourable House 0 f dated . ad Apnl ISIS, for a Return of the Manner ' 156, the BOoks received under th e Copyright Act, 54 Ge °3 ; ' l ~gief and stated by a R e t urn ma d e to art Order of thi' i bod dated Roth Febi'Mtry 1818, as not placed in the bltc f of the University of Cambridge,—have been disrsts. ° o f ti Report on-the .11e-committed Report ,08,,th0-re'ji° Sheffield and Hallainshire Cutlers. e i ll* - A Bill to carry into Executi on a T bet °l reaty made , o op r Majesty and the King of Spain, for the preveul'ing. • • in Slaves. " 3 A Bill (as amended by th e , C omm itt ee ) for " ,o ,a; promoting the building of additional Churches 1" P°"l Parishes. wi der t ile A Bill fut diminishing, the Expoice of Birdoo' Great Seal. gore ) A Return of the Net Amount of the Wi o dow nd ioaii Tax is Irelnd, for the Years ending the 5111 0I ja 1818, 1817, and 1818, respectively, c lt Return of the Number of Taxable - Articles , for w.'lc ort tices of 'Discontinuance, and Increase, had heel) S er"-- eoc i• the seteral Collectors of Excise in Itelancl, for the 'Yea'. inr, the 5t li January 1819 - COAL MARKET, April'94• price' oil , Ships:it Maiket, Ships.suld. J. i to 45 5- &if , 57 Newcast.lo ......... ....45.... . 40 5 . °(" # 41 5 • .56 Slinderland.. o d. f............/ Lady , S it L On the 20th instant, at Evingt o n,. Kent, t h e —3 John Courtenay lionywooki,•Bart. of a clatighter • MAI:1110D. On Sunday last, at Camberwell, Mr. %%'• Miss Adams._ • . DIU). Sitin°l On the 17th ult. Mrs. S. H rt P arto wife of the Rev. g r#l Hartupp, of Dalby, Leicestershire. At Freeland, in • Kent, in the 78th year of her ag e l ~, Moore, reliet.of the late Archbishop o f c anterhuAY. scr at 'l'hursilas hist, Mr. Johtyliiit c hett, sell• of the „ t ll, Hot 6e, Cellar, Piccadilly, aged 62. - 0- 0, in On thcalst Decebt , ,r la-t, on board theliailloLanW7), jo passage front Calcutta, aged c 2., Captain ii.waril flit! Cumin:miler of that ship. L at. • "•`t, , ~11 LONDON: Printed by.). IL LosTAilts, L. Orniond,street, Qu 7 eeu•squalv; and pol!tistied Iry ~trN SUUPPS, of No. , Nlolto:i-stivet, at " or IL *• 01fice,-No. 1 - 1, Strand ; where Adveitisementir Letters, &c. (post-paid) ruttst Lie addrus4;cl, / z , -•-. _ . . BIRTH Ti Cr o ?.? h,. 44